Love makes you domestic?
by Uva Ramune
Summary: Jeanne is confused to Cereza's new behavior, could it be she's in love? But the question is what sad bastard won't live up to Jeanne's expectation for her beloved friend?


Bayonetta gathered Jeanne's body up into her arms, her grip firm but gentle. She had a lump in her throat that she couldn't swallow. Sparks of contained fury were present in her eyes. She clenched her jaw tightly and gritted her teeth. She seethed smoke from her nostrils and mouth. Her whole body was on edge, tense and ready to jump at anything. Instead she held Jeanne close and swore under her breath that she'd get her back. "Hold on Jeanne …I'm not done with you yet."

.

"Well, no, it's nothing like that," Jeanne idled on the phone with a friend who had been worried why she missed the Christmas party. "It couldn't be helped..." A saucer and a cup of steaming tea were placed in front of her. She glanced up and caught a grey eye twinkle at her as she busied herself back to ... Jeanne turned her head to see what indeed she was doing…Cooking? _Witches didn't need to cook._

"I can't imagine," Jeanne said returning to her call. She lifted the cup of steaming tea and blew a cold breath before sipping it. "No, I don't think you should... Well, like I've said, these things don't happen very often." Jeanne stood up and lifted up her cup of tea. She began to pace slowly back and forth from each end of their kitchen. Cereza wiped up the bits of water on the counter and got back to her ... Jeanne did a double take... Stew?

She put the phone against her shoulder and ear as she stirred her tea and sipped it again. "Yes, I'm listening. You haven't really let me give you any insight now. Yes, of course he is. Good bye then."

Jeanne hung up the phone with an irritated sound. She put the phone down and leaned back against the kitchen counter facing Cereza, still sipping her tea slowly. Enjoying its aroma, she closed her eyes and inhaled, finally actually able to enjoy it.

Cereza looked over her shoulder and smiled at her. "Amazing, isn't it?" She asked prompting Jeanne to open her eyes to look at her, "Picked it up this morning while I was out."

Jeanne raised an eyebrow, lifting her head to acknowledge her. She walked over to Cereza's side and leaned her hips against the counter, facing the other way. Curiously it had a pleasant aroma. Turned out she was cooking from a giant pot full of a bobbing variety. Jeanne didn't say a word about it. If this was how she wanted to toil her skills with then so be it. Speaking of which, Jeanne had seen Cereza in the market earlier, spying the city from above on a roof and in coincidentally spotted her from afar, shopping at the Farmer's market. Jeanne had stopped everything to watch her amused as she looked completely adorable in her modern clothes with a basket looped in the crook of her arm. Her facial expressions of joy and gratitude when she was offered free vegetables melted her heart and she found herself smiling. She propped her chin on her elbow and watched her slowly make her way across the market, being stopped every once in a while. Someone had asked to pose her with their baby in her arms with a family and Jeanne watched her eager expression as she lifted the cooing child up. Jeanne flinched at the idea of her having a man's baby and as if things weren't already on edge with her, Luka came around the corner, taking discreet pictures of her until she caught him. They conversed amicably and that's when Jeanne leapt to another building to avoid them and give them peace. "How is Luka?" Jeanne asked, taking a hearty gulp of tea. She noticed on the corner of her eye that Cereza had stiffened at the mention of his name.

"He's well I suppose," was the affirmed answer. Jeanne smiled and turned to put the cup in thin air to dispose of it. "Hey, now!" Cereza pulled it out and put it in the sink. Jeanne leaned over the sink, folded her elbows underneath her and watched Cereza curiously. Ever since she had woken up from her "slumber" Cereza had been much occupied with being ... domestic. The furniture had been polished, the floors and walls cleaned and Jeanne knew by the looks of it that it was no spell she had used. It had been sloppy at first, but by the second time she had it down to an art. She loved shopping and always asked Jeanne what she thought of the things she bought. Cooking had become a ritual it seemed. Waking up to breakfast and returning for either a lunch or a snack, always a hot meal waiting for her. At her first meal she had stared at her plate and decided to indulge the black witch whose face lightened up when she approved. _Just who is all this for?_ _Or was she just practicing?_ Certainly they had no choice but to move on in this modern world, settle down. With being last of their kind, there certainly weren't any males. She sighed and straightened up. No choice in that if that was what her cherished friend wanted. _But if it was for Luka..._

"Alright, I'm heading out," Jeanne proclaimed and long strides moved her towards the front door down the hallway. Cereza walked after her, wiping her hands on the apron. "When will you be back? Dinner will almost be ready," she said in a worried tone.

"Just a quick cruise through the city." Jeanne made it outside and sat on her bike, making the leather squeak. She put on her goggles and looked Cereza over. Cereza was wearing blue jeans, a tight black crop T-shirt with a V-neck and an apron that said 'kiss the cook' was in knots in her hands. There was a smear of something on her cheek and on her glasses; she was pursing her lips as they stared at each other. "This look suits you..." Jeanne replied. She leaned over on the bike and started it. She then winked at her. "You'd make a beautiful wife."

She caught Cereza's face light up in relief and happiness before she rolled out of the driveway and ripped away.

.

Jeanne wasn't planning on staying out too long either way. She had been bored thinking that all Cereza was doing was for Luka. She sat waiting at a red light with her arms crossed, feeling eyes on her from all directions. She sat poised, head up and eyes lowered, silvery hair rustling by the gentle breeze. She had been asked in the past how her hair didn't snag on things. The things they worried about amused her. All these people with short life spans... How did they live their lives? Work and go home, eat, sleep and repeat again seemed so ... Empty. But then again who was she to talk. All she ever did was ride around, scouting she would tell herself. Scouting to keep these infinite humans, Cereza cherished, safe. Cereza was adapting well to it all it seemed, preparing to wait on someone when they got home from work, with a hot meal and a hot body to welcome him to their warm bed. She gritted her teeth at the thought. This wasn't the Cereza she knew and loved. The trigger happy witch who teased men as she teased the angels was on a different road entirely. _Just what happened?_ She hadn't been asleep that long she was promised.

Mere seconds before the green light lit up she was already up in the air with her front tire aimed to the sky. She vaulted herself over the bus in front of her and sped away, breaking all traffic laws in her wake, cars honking at her.

After several minutes of cruising to nowhere in particular she was stopped beside a store at a red light, why she even bothered to stop at all she never gave a thought except when she glanced through the window. A beautiful rose diamond necklace showed on her reflection on her neck. She tilted her head and admired it. Upon doing so gave a clear view of Luka in the distance of her reflection. He caught sight of her and waved. She nodded at him in acknowledgment and apparently that invited him over. She growled low in her throat but straightened her posture.

"Window shopping huh?" he asked, hands on his hips.

"The only thing amusing in this frigid boring town of yours," she replied coolly, crossing her arms.

He chuckled and gave a pointer finger stab. "Always with the remarks. It's funny I run into you."

_She didn't think so_.

"Are you headed anywhere? I wouldn't go up main. Big traffic accident. Just came back for my article." He flashed his camera and snapped her photo, hoping to be quick enough; the witches were always faster than him. He looked at the preview and frowned. No person, just a bike standing upright by itself. He shrugged, already having given up photographing the duo witches, just thought he'd give it a shot. "Something in that direction that you want?"

She stared up ahead. Something was edging on her mind, making her space out. If Cereza was doing all this manual crap for this fool...

"Cereza's... making dinner," was all she muttered.

Luka raised his eyebrows in mirth, "She's gotten pretty good, hasn't she. I envy you though, coming home to her every night. A guy could only be so lucky." He looked distantly into the sky and sighed. He then shot her his winning smile but she blatantly stared at him and through him. She seized him up with her eyes, loose baggy pants, shaggy hair, trimmed beard and he was awkward to just be around. She found he always talked too much; he loved to listen to himself. Even now he wasn't realizing she wasn't listening to his babble. _Just what did Cereza see in him? _There had to be something that wasn't sticking its sore thumb in her face.

When the light turned green but no one moved, Jeanne pulled her goggles over her eyes and Luka shut up. Jeanne revved her pedal and looked straight at him. "Dinner's at 6." She told him and roared away, zip zagging around vehicles in the wrong lane.

.

Cereza was chattier than usual as well. The two made quite the pair it seemed. Jeanne sat back and just watched the other witch hustle it, setting the table and serving the food. Jeanne had offered to help but was promptly ordered to sit down. She sat back and watched Cereza beam with such a glow to her that was apparent in expecting mothers. Then it dawned on her. She almost broke the chair she clutched it so hard. It explained all the domestic bliss. Cereza poured Jeanne a cup of wine half full, smiling at her when she got close, her perfume intoxicating Jeanne in a sweet sultry way that made her slightly dizzy and found herself staring at Cereza's glistening lips. _She hadn't even taken a sip yet!_

Just then the doorbell rang in the nick of time.

"Who?" Cereza straightened up, glancing at the door. As she went to answer it, Jeanne swallowed hard and picked up the cup of wine.

Cereza stared at a wall of rosemary blooms. "Hi! Am I late?" The bouquet moved to the side to reveal Luka who flashed her a grin. Cereza stared in aghast. "Luka... Oh?" She turned her head to see Jeanne stand up, putting down an empty glass of wine. "Mm! Luka. Right on time." She sashayed over to them, strapping up her bike gear back on.

"Have a pleasant date you two." Jeanne winked at Cereza and walked into the drive way, and saddled onto her bike. She was off before Cereza could say anything, leaving her with a sheepish Italian. "Sorry," he managed. "I thought it was a... group thing." Cereza sighed but invited him in none the less.

The meal was quiet, except for a few compliments here and there from Luka's stuffed mouth. When they finished dinner and were on their second glass of wine, Luka offered to take their plates to the kitchen. Cereza didn't refuse his help.

"You know," he said off in the kitchen, "That meal was fit for a king. Some chefs say they draw inspiration from things they see and even things they feel, particularly for a certain loved one." He popped around the corner, wiping his hands, "This meal certainly fits that bill." He sat back down and resumed his wine.

"You don't say," Cereza murmured, gently sliding her forefinger in a circle on the rim of her glass. Luka noticed her expression right away. "You know as a journalist we are quite the talented ones to seek out answers to many people's questions."

"Do people ask you these questions?" She sat back and crossed her leg over the other. "I thought you stopped with the interviews." Luka grinned and leaned forward on his elbows.

"Let's put it this way. Lots of people have questions. It's a way of life to question everything. People question where this town came from. Who is the guy who moved in next door or where was that pheasant hunted before it appeared in the market; simple things. But some people aren't as able to ask and get answers. No one likes to be proven wrong."

This made Cereza grey eyes turn to steel.

"My job," he continued with a smirk, knowing he had hit a nail on the head. "Is to get answers for those people without them even having to ask. They just pick up a literature of mine and I'm quite positive that 99.9% of what I say is on the money. Because I make sure I get it right. I have hard facts to back it all up."

Cereza sat quiet, taking a sip of her wine, "The gift of gab is it?"

Luka laughed, "I know you watch wherever she goes. Ever since she woke up from that deep sleep, you haven't kept her out of your sight. Even now you're watching her. She knows you are," he took another swig and licked his lips.

Cereza was now watching him. He chuckled. "It's in me to know. But," he leaned forward again, eyes fixed on her. "You can't babysit her. She's a witch. A witch far longer than you have been while you were sleeping and she can't be tamed."

Cereza crumbled the cloth handkerchief in her hand. She looked at the knowing owl pin she had on her wrist. Seeing it was black she sighed and turned it away.

.

Jeanne took off the pin on her goggles and flicked it into traffic with a demure smirk. She put them back on and gripped her gear handles. Roared off into the street again, leaving black smoke in her wake.

.

"You're late," said a stern voice making Jeanne look up at the tall woman dressed in bamboo silk with her arms crossed. Jeanne grinned and put her bike's kickstand up. "I didn't know I had a curfew."

"It's 3am!" Cereza argued. Jeanne walked past her into the house with Cereza hot on her heels. "I wanted to give you and Luka enough time," she said nonchalantly.

"Enough time?! For what even? I didn't ..." She stopped to pinch the bridge of her nose. "So you're playing matchmaker now are you? Got me all figured out do you?"

Jeanne stopped at her bedroom door and turned at the hint of Cereza's voice cracking. Cereza had already started walking away but Jeanne caught the twinkle of a tear in her eyes.

Cereza crumbled to her knees at her bureau and tried to suppress the tears but they fell in streams. She hadn't wept this way ever since her mother died over 500+ years ago. Now she had almost lost Jeanne, the only person she cared about most and had left. She felt so incredibly responsible for what happened with Jeanne, losing control of the witch beast and almost losing her to a soul devourer. Cereza shook in her sobs in attempt to quiet herself, fisting fabric of her robe and piercing her palms with her nails.

"Fucking, damnit!" Course Luka was right. She couldn't watch over Jeanne like she was a child, but weren't they at least more than just? She didn't know herself what she was doing even. She wiped her eyes with her wrists and sighed, standing up, catching her reflection in the mirror and whirled around when she saw Jeanne.

Jeanne with a worried expression strode in, cupping her face, still moving forward, pushing Cereza back onto her bureau and met her lips with her own. Cereza's eyes widened in surprise and her hands flew to Jeanne's wrists. She closed her eyes slowly when she realized Jeanne wasn't letting her go.

After a minute of tender lip locking, Jeanne pulled away, eyes on Cereza's sparkling eyes. Jeanne caressed her cheek with the back of her hand, shaking her head. Then her serene expression turned dark and she whirled around to exit the room. "I'll fucking kill him!"

Cereza launched forward and caught her, collapsing them both on the master bed, Jeanne's hair cascading into dark red silk sheets. "It's not Luka! I need you to stop with him already! He isn't the problem!" Jeanne lay under her and stared up at the grey eyes burning into her.

"I've never been after Luka," Cereza insisted. "He's only a friend. I've let him know what he is to me. I've told him several times."

Jeanne sat up when Cereza let go of her wrists, "Doesn't mean he'll listen."

"No, Jeanne, the one that isn't listening is you," Cereza said, sitting back on the bed, hands in knots on her exposed knees. Jeanne sat quiet a moment, her elbows on her knees, as she toyed with her fingers. She had known. Somewhat. Cereza had been sweeter and more attentive ever since she had woken up. The domestic behavior had been annoying at first. If she had realized she had done all that to cater to her, she would've told her to stop. "Is that why you've been watching me?" Jeanne turned to look over her shoulder, but Cereza was sitting on the other end of the bed, back facing her. "Cereza..."

"I wanted to ... make you comfortable."

"I was asleep only a few days..." Jeanne tried to reassure her but Cereza stood up abruptly. "But it felt much longer! And then I began to think about when I was asleep for hundreds of years! How you must've felt! How lonely … you must have been."

"Oh? You couldn't throw in the possibility of a few lovers each century?" Jeanne joked. Cereza shot her a look but immediately looked apologetic.

Jeanne sighed and turned away again, "Is that what you really think about all the time?"

"I think about you," Cereza said softly. Jeanne gave a frustrated sigh and stood up, whirling around to face the other woman, hands on hips. "Well I think about the woman who was appropriately coined 'Bayonetta'. That's who I think about." She moved closer and gently pulled Cereza near. "You can live life how you wish. You have so much potential to be anything at all. Being domestic to this world isn't one of them."

Cereza chuckled and shook her head. Jeanne caught her chin and tilted it upwards to look her in the eye. She was a few inches taller this time for Cereza didn't have her heels on. "I want you to be happy. If you wish to cook for me on your own accord, then fine. Holding someone's heart is a powerful thing." Then she yanked her up close to her chest. "But you also must realize with that kind of power comes great responsibility," she said in a husky whisper, lips near hers.

With that the corners of Cereza's mouth curled upwards in a smirk. "I'll handle it," she whispered. Jeanne smiled down at her.

.

"Now where did you say you were from? Paradiso, you say? You're a long way from home." Cereza tilted the angel's head back with her pistol, "Allow me to send you back!" She blasted his ass to kingdom come. Rushed down the side of the building and swept a few in the abdomen with her leg. Thrusting them back in a flutter of feathers where a pair of red pistols blasted them to nothing. Blood, feathers and rose petals scattered through the air, reflecting off the moonbeams. Bayonetta grinned and ran towards the other woman dressed in red who caught her round the waist and did a tag team where they blasted everything coming at them like a deadly carousel.

Jeanne grabbed her and pulled her near, chest to chest and bent her backwards, revealing their lips were locked by a passing body that went crashing into the abyss that opened up below them. "Is hell open or are you the one making me hot?" Bayonetta teased as she was stood upright.

Jeanne dabbed her lipstick back on and grinned, "You haven't seen anything yet!" She loaded the lipstick into the barrel of her pistol and snapped it shut, letting the revolver churn and fire into the pits below. She yanked Bayonetta against her as they both allowed themselves to fall down and disappear into the blinding fires of hell, swallowing them up.

.


End file.
